[HO455]

Now all the prep work is done it's time to bolt it all together. Install the fittings in the bags, bolt the plates to the bags, bolt the plates to the truck. When I put plate and bag in position I just installed one bolt and left it loose while I inserted an 7" headless bolt through the trailing arm and threaded it into the bottom of the bag as a guide (You can see it at the bottom of the 4th photo. You could use a longer regular bolt, but I didn't have any handy) Now I installed and lightly snugged up the rest of the bolts that hold the plates. After hooking the air lines back up I slowly inflated the bags until they were just touching the trailing arm. This allowed me to adjust the bottom of the bag with a rubber mallet until I could untread the bottom bolt I had used as a guide and then install the correct bolt. Once every thing was done and the truck on the ground I crawled under and tightened the bolts that secure the plates in position knowing that any play between the plates and the spacers had been removed by the weight of the truck. The last picture shows one of the old bags and the split in the outer layer of the rubber at the top of the bag. They didn't leak, but I am sure it was just a matter of time. I inspected the aluminum top plates of the old bags thinking I would find some kind of wear pattern from the unevenness of the spacers they were bolted to. To my surprise there was none. I guess the bags must of prevented shocks hard enough to do damage.